Cap Assembly for a Medicament Delivery Device

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a cap assembly ( 5 ) for a medicament delivery device, comprising: a cap ( 7 ) having a tubular body ( 7   b ) defining an axially extending distal opening ( 7   c ) and configured to be mounted to a proximal end of a medicament delivery device, wherein the cap ( 7 ) has a bottom structure ( 7   e ) defining a proximal end of the distal opening ( 7   c ), wherein the bottom structure ( 7   e ) has a cam structure ( 7   f ) provided inside the tubular body ( 7   b ), and wherein the tubular body ( 7   b ) has inner walls provided with radial recesses ( 7   d ), and an elongated squeeze member ( 9 ) configured to be received in the distal opening ( 7   c ) of the tubular body ( 7   b ), and having a longitudinally extending channel ( 9   d ) configured to receive a delivery member shield, and which squeeze member ( 9 ) has radial arms ( 9   e ) flexible in the radial direction and forming part of a wall of the channel ( 9   d ), wherein the squeeze member ( 9 ) has a proximal end face ( 9   a ) configured to cooperate with the cam structure ( 7   f ) of the cap ( 7 ), whereby axial displacement of the squeeze member ( 9 ) from a first position in which the proximal end face ( 9   a ) bears against the cam structure ( 7   f ) to a second position in which the squeeze member ( 9 ) is received further by the cap ( 7 ) causes rotation of the squeeze member ( 9 ) relative to the cap ( 7 ), wherein the radial arms ( 9   e ) are configured to engage with a respective radial recess ( 7   d ) of the tubular body ( 7   b ) in the first position of the squeeze member ( 9 ), and wherein the radial arms ( 9   e ) are configured to disengage from the respective radial recess when the squeeze member ( 9 ) is displaced from the first position to the second position and rotated, whereby the flexible radial arms ( 9   e ) are pressed into the channel ( 9   d ) by the inner walls of the tubular body ( 7   b ), reducing a cross-sectional area of the channel ( 9   d ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to medical devices. Inparticular, it relates to a cap assembly for a medicament deliverydevice, to a medicament delivery device comprising such a cap assembly,and to a method of assembling a sub-assembly for a medicament deliverydevice.

BACKGROUND

Medicament delivery devices, such as injectors and inhalers, typicallycomprise a housing in which a medicament container containing amedicament is to be arranged. Upon activation of the medicament deliverydevice, the medicament is expelled through a medicament delivery member,for example a needle or a nozzle.

In order to protect and to keep the medicament delivery member sterile,the medicament delivery member may be provided with a delivery membershield, or sheath, such as a Flexible Needle Shield (FNS) or a RigidNeedle Shield (RNS). The delivery member shield may thus be attached tothe medicament container to cover the medicament delivery member, duringassembly of the medicament container or of the medicament deliverydevice.

Moreover, the medicament delivery device may comprise a removable capwhich is mounted to the proximal end of the housing, i.e. that end whichis placed towards the injection site during medicament delivery, of themedicament delivery device, or to the proximal end of the medicamentcontainer. The removable cap has the function of providing mechanicalprotection of the medicament delivery member while attached to thehousing or medicament container, and to remove the delivery membershield when the cap is removed from the housing.

WO2015110532 A1 discloses an auto-injector having a connector forconnecting a needle cover to a removable cap. The connector has aplurality of legs spaced symmetrically away from one another about acentral hub. The legs have an elastic nature and aid in securing theneedle cover and/or rigid needle shield to a cap insert and hence to theremovable cap. The needle cover and/or needle shield are securedtogether through upper, internally facing barbs protruding from thefirst legs. The upper, internally facing barbs include tips that pointtoward the forward end of the connector. These barbs are shaped toengage the needle cover and/or rigid needle shield when the needle coverand/or rigid needle shield is fitted within the connector. The barb tipsapply opposing force with respect to one another when they engage theneedle cover and/or rigid needle shield when the needle cover and/orrigid needle shield is fitted within the connector.

SUMMARY

According to the design disclosed in WO2015110532 A1, the legs of theconnector are flexed towards each other as soon as the connector isplaced in the cap insert. This bending of the legs renders it moredifficult to insert the needle cover/rigid needle shield into theconnector, thereby making assembly more difficult.

In view of the above, a general object of the present disclosure is toprovide a cap assembly for a medicament delivery device which solves orat least mitigates the problems of the prior art.

There is hence according to a first aspect of the present disclosureprovided a cap assembly for a medicament delivery device, comprising: acap having a tubular body defining an axially extending distal openingand configured to be mounted to a proximal end of a medicament deliverydevice, wherein the cap has a bottom structure defining a proximal endof the distal opening, wherein the bottom structure has a cam structureprovided inside the tubular body, and wherein the tubular body has innerwalls provided with radial recesses extending in the longitudinaldirection along the inner walls, and an elongated squeeze memberconfigured to be received in the distal opening of the tubular body, andhaving a longitudinally extending channel configured to receive adelivery member shield, and which squeeze member has radial armsflexible in the radial direction and forming part of a wall of thechannel, wherein the squeeze member has a proximal end face configuredto cooperate with the cam structure of the cap, whereby axialdisplacement of the squeeze member from a first position in which theproximal end face bears against the cam structure to a second positionin which the squeeze member is received further by the cap causesrotation of the squeeze member relative to the cap, wherein the radialarms are configured to engage with a respective radial recess of thetubular body in the first position of the squeeze member, and whereinthe radial arms are configured to disengage from the respective radialrecess when the squeeze member is displaced from the first position tothe second position and rotated, whereby the flexible radial arms arepressed into the channel by the inner walls of the tubular body,reducing a cross-sectional area of the channel.

The squeeze member is thus able to provide radial pressure on, orsqueeze, a delivery member shield when a delivery member shield isinserted into the channel of the squeeze member and the squeeze memberis moved proximally inside the distal opening of the cap, to the secondposition. The cap may hence in a simple manner be mounted to thedelivery member shield, and removed from a medicament container when thecap assembly is removed from a medicament delivery device.

According to one embodiment the cam structure is annular in a radialplane and comprises a plurality of elevated portions with a cut-outhaving oppositely inclined surfaces provided between each adjacent pairof elevated portions, in the circumferential direction of the camstructure.

According to one embodiment the proximal end face of the squeeze membercomprises a plurality of elevated portion with a cut-out havingoppositely inclined surfaces provided between each adjacent pair ofelevated portions of the proximal end face, in the circumferentialdirection of the squeeze member.

According to one embodiment each elevated portion of the squeeze memberis configured to bear against a region of a cut-out of the cam structurecloser to an elevated portion of the cam structure than to a lowestelevational point of the cut-out, in the first position of the squeezemember.

According to one embodiment the elevated portions of the squeeze memberare configured to engage with the cut-outs of the cam structure in thesecond position of the squeeze member.

According to one embodiment at least two of the radial arms are arrangedopposite to each other in a radial plane of the squeeze member, causingthe two radial arms to move towards each other in the second position ofthe squeeze member.

According to one embodiment two of the radial arms are arranged in afirst radial plane of the squeeze member, and wherein two other radialarms are arranged in a second radial plane axially spaced apart from thefirst radial plane.

According to one embodiment the two radial arms arranged in the firstplane are arranged 90 degrees offset in the circumferential directionrelative to the two arms arranged in the second plane.

According to one embodiment the radial recesses have inclined surfacesin the circumferential direction allowing the radial arms to disengagewhen the squeeze member is rotated while displaced from the firstposition to the second position.

According to one embodiment the radial arms have an increasing thicknessin a direction from their point of attachment towards their endportions, wherein the thickness of each end portion is thicker than awall thickness of the channel.

According to one embodiment the radial recesses extend in thelongitudinal direction along a majority of the length of the inner wallsof the tubular body.

There is according to a second aspect of the present disclosure provideda medicament delivery device comprising: a body having a proximalopening, and a cap assembly according to the first aspect, wherein thecap assembly is configured to be mounted to the medicament deliverydevice to cover the proximal opening of the body.

One embodiment comprises a surface configured to bear against a distalend face of the squeeze member.

There is according to a third aspect provided a method of assembling asub-assembly for a medicament delivery device, comprising: a) providinga cap assembly according to the first aspect, b) inserting the squeezemember into the distal opening of the cap and moving the squeeze membertowards the bottom structure until the proximal end face of the squeezemember contacts the cam structure to obtain the first position of thesqueeze member, and c) assembling the cap with the squeeze memberarranged therein with a medicament container assembly comprising adelivery member shield, such that the squeeze member receives thedelivery member shield.

According to one embodiment step c) includes moving a distal end face ofthe squeeze member towards a proximal surface of the medicamentcontainer assembly, causing the squeeze member to move proximally insidethe cap from the first position to the second position causing theradial arms to squeeze the delivery member shield.

According to one embodiment the delivery member shield is a rigid needleshield or a flexible needle shield.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted accordingto their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitlydefined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the element,apparatus, component, means, etc. are to be interpreted openly asreferring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component,means, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The specific embodiments of the inventive concept will now be described,by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a medicament deliverydevice without an activation assembly;

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the medicament delivery device in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a cap assembly;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a cap;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of the cap in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows the squeeze member arranged in the cap in a first positionof the squeeze member;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the cap assembly shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal section of the squeeze member arranged in thecap in a second position of the squeeze member;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the cap assembly shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of an example of a medicament containerassembly;

FIG. 11 shows a longitudinal section of a proximal portion of anelongated body of the medicament container assembly;

FIG. 12 shows a longitudinal section of a sub-assembly comprising thecap assembly and the medicament container assembly during assembly;

FIG. 13 shows a longitudinal section of the sub-assembly in FIG. 12 whenthe cap assembly and the medicament container assembly have beenassembled;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a method of assembling a sub-assemblyincluding the cap assembly and the medicament container assembly; and

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a method of assembling a sub-assemblyincluding the cap assembly and the medicament container assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventive concept will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplifyingembodiments are shown. The inventive concept may, however, be embodiedin many different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided byway of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete,and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to thoseskilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout thedescription.

The term “proximal end” as used herein, when used in conjunction with acap assembly, refers to that end of the cap assembly which is farthestfrom the proximal end of the medicament delivery device, when the capassembly is properly mounted onto a medicament delivery device. Theproximal end of a medicament delivery device is that end which is to bepointed towards the injection site during medicament injection. The sameconsiderations also apply when referring to any component of the capassembly. The “distal end” is the opposite end relative to the proximalend. With “proximal direction” and, equivalently, “proximally” is meanta direction from the distal end towards the proximal end, along thecentral axis of the safety mechanism. With “distal direction” or“distally” is meant the opposite direction to “proximal direction”. Thesame definition also applies for the medicament container and anycomponent thereof.

The present disclosure relates to a cap assembly for a medicamentdelivery device. The cap assembly includes a cap and an elongatedsqueeze member. The cap is configured to be mounted to a proximal end ofa medicament delivery device, for example to the housing, or body, of amedicament delivery device. The cap has a tubular body which has adistal opening extending along the central axis of the tubular body.

The tubular body has a bottom structure which defines the proximal endwall of the distal opening. The bottom structure has a cam structure,provided inside the tubular body, in particular inside the distalopening. The tubular body has inner walls, i.e. the inner walls of thedistal opening provided with radial recesses.

The squeeze member is configured to be received by the tubular body, inparticular in the distal opening. The squeeze member has alongitudinally extending channel configured to receive a delivery membershield. The squeeze member furthermore has radial arms that are flexiblein the radial direction. The radial arms form part of a channel wall(s).The squeeze member furthermore has a proximal end face configured tocooperate with the cam structure of the cap. The squeeze member isconfigured to be axially displaceable from a first position in which theproximal end face bears against the cam structure to a second positionin which the squeeze member is received further by the cap. This axialdisplacement causes rotation of the squeeze member relative to the cap,and is obtained due to the cooperating proximal end face of the squeezemember and the cam structure of the cap.

The radial arms extend radially outside the outer surface of the squeezemember when the squeeze member is arranged in the first position. In thefirst position, each radial arm is received by a respective radialrecess of the tubular body. When the squeeze member is rotated, theradial arms disengage from the radial recesses, and as the squeezemember rotates so that the radial arms are moved in the circumferentialdirection away from their respective radial recess, the radial arms arepressed radially inwards by the inner walls of the tubular body. Thiscauses the radial arms to extend radially inwards of the inner surfaceof the channel of the squeeze member, reducing a cross-sectional area ofthe channel. The radial arms may thereby provide radial pressure onto adelivery member shield received by the squeeze member. The cap assemblycan thus engage with the delivery member shield such that when the capassembly is removed from a medicament delivery device, the deliverymember shield is removed simultaneously.

With reference to FIGS. 1-10 an example of a cap assembly will bedescribed.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a medicament delivery device 1, whichin the present case may also be seen as a sub-assembly of a medicamentdelivery device, because the depicted example does not comprise anactivation assembly, which is to be mounted to a distal end of themedicament delivery device 1.

The exemplified medicament delivery device 1 shown in FIG. 1 has aproximal end is and a distal end 1 b, and comprises a body, or housing,3, and a cap assembly 5.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an exploded view of the medicament deliverydevice 1 is shown. The medicament delivery device 1 comprises the capassembly 5, which comprises a cap 7 and a squeeze member 9, a medicamentcontainer assembly 11, which comprises the body 3 and a clamp member 13.The medicament delivery device 1 may further include a delivery membershield 15 and a medicament container 17 including a delivery member 19.

According to the example shown in FIG. 2, the medicament container 17 isa syringe and the delivery member 19 is a needle. Moreover, theexemplified the delivery member shield 15 includes a flexible innermember 15 a configured to receive the delivery member 19 and a rigidouter member 15 b configured to receive the flexible inner member 15 a.The rigid outer member 15 b has chamfered outer surfaces 15 c extendingparallel with each other in the longitudinal direction of the deliverymember shield 15. The exemplified delivery member shield 15 is a rigidneedle shield, but could alternatively be a flexible needle shield.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the cap assembly 5. The exemplified cap7 has an outer body 7 a and an inner tubular body 7 b, coaxiallyarranged with the outer body. The tubular body 7 b has an axiallyextending distal opening 7 c. The tubular body 7 b is configured toreceive the squeeze member 9 in the distal opening 7 c.

The tubular body 7 b has a plurality of radial recesses 7 d. The radialrecesses 7 d extend in the longitudinal direction along a majority ofthe axial length of the tubular body 7 b, and thus of the distal opening7 c.

The squeeze member 9 is elongated and has a tubular shape. The squeezemember 9 has a channel 9 d extending in the longitudinal directionthrough the squeeze member 9, configured to receive the delivery membershield 15.

The squeeze member 9 furthermore has a proximal end face 9 a comprisinga plurality of elevated portions 9 b. Between each pair of adjacent pairof elevated portions 9 b is a cut-out 9 c with oppositely inclined orsloping surfaces. The proximal end face 9 a is hence provided with aplurality of teeth in the circumferential direction of the squeezemember 9, with a gradually increasing and decreasing elevation.

The squeeze member 9 comprises a plurality of radial arms 9 d which areflexible in the radial direction. The radial arms 9 d extend thecircumferential direction from the main body of the squeeze member 9 andhave an increasing thickness towards their end portions relative to thepoint of attachment to the main body of the squeeze member 9. Hereto,the end thickness of each radial arm is substantially thicker than thethickness of the channel wall.

The radial arms 9 e form part of the channel wall. The radial arms 9 eare by default configured to flex radially outwards from the outersurface of the squeeze member 9, as shown in FIG. 3. Hereto, the radialarms 9 e protrude radially from the outer surface of the main body ofthe squeeze member 9 when no external force is applied to the radialarms 9 e. The radial arms 9 e are configured to slide axially in arespective radial recess 7 d of the cap 7, when the squeeze member 9 ismoved linearly in the distal opening 7 c of the tubular body 7 b. Theradial recess 7 d have inclined surfaces in the circumferentialdirection, allowing the radial arms 9 e to disengage from the radialrecesses 7 d when the squeeze member 9 is rotated while being displacedin the distal opening 7 c, from a first position to a second position.The radial recesses 7 d and the radial arms 9 e may be seen to form aratchet configuration, with the radial arms 9 e being flexible radiallyinwards when the squeeze member 9 disengage from the radial recesses 7 dand the squeeze member 9 is being rotated.

According to the example shown in FIG. 3, the squeeze member 9 has aplurality of arms 9 e in a first radial plane along the axial directionof the squeeze member 9, and a plurality of radial arms 9 e in a secondplane axially spaced apart from the first plane. The exemplified squeezemember 9 hence has several layers of radial arms 9 e, in the axialdirection of the squeeze member 9.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the cap 7, in particular seen from the distalend of the cap 7. The cap 7 has a bottom structure 7 e, which defines adistal end wall or surface of the distal opening 7 c. The bottomstructure 7 e has a cam structure 7 f, which according to the presentexample is annular in a radial plane. The cam structure 7 f isconfigured to cooperate with the proximal end face 9 a of the squeezemember 9.

FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal section of the cap 7. The cam structure 7 fhas a plurality of slanting surfaces, forming a gradually increasing anddecreasing teeth-like structure in the circumferential direction.Hereto, the cam structure 7 f has a plurality of elevated portions 7 g,of which one can be seen in FIG. 5, and cut-outs 7 h with oppositelyarranged inclined surfaces. Between each pair of adjacent elevatedportion 7 g, there is provided a cut-out 7 h. This configuration of thecam structure 7 f allows for cooperation with the correspondingstructure of the proximal end face 9 a of the squeeze member 9, as willbe described in more detail in the following.

FIG. 6 shows the squeeze member 9 arranged inside the tubular body 7 bof the cap 7. The squeeze member 9 is arranged in a first positionrelative to the cap 7. Here, the proximal end face 9 a of the squeezemember 9 bears against the cam structure 7 f arranged inside the tubularbody 7 b. Each elevated portion 9 b of the squeeze member 9 bearsagainst a respective top portion of the cut-out 7 h, closer to anelevated portion of the cam structure 7 f than to the lowest elevationalpoint of the cut-out 7 h.

As shown in the top view of FIG. 7, each radial arm 9 e of the squeezemember 9 is arranged in a respective radial recess 7 d of the innerwalls of the tubular body 7 b when the squeeze member 9 is in the firstposition.

FIG. 8 shows the squeeze member 9 in a second position. In the secondposition, the squeeze member 9 has been axially displaced relative tothe first position shown in FIG. 6. In particular, the squeeze member 9has been further received by the tubular body 7 b. Due to this proximaldisplacement of the squeeze member 9 the proximal end face 9 a and thecam structure 7 f have cooperated, causing the squeeze member 9 torotate relative to the cap 7. Hereto, the elevated portions 9 b of theproximal end face 9 a have slid down to the lowest elevational points ofthe cut-outs 7 h of the cam structure 7 f. Moreover, the elevatedportions 7 g of the cam structure 7 f have been fully received by thecut-out 9 c of the proximal end face 9 a of the squeeze member 9.

In FIG. 9, a top view of the situation shown in FIG. 8 is depicted. Theradial arms 9 e have disengaged from the radial recesses 7 d as thesqueeze member 9 is moved proximally from the first position to thesecond position, causing the squeeze member 9 to rotate, as indicated bythe arrows showing rotation. This causes the radial arms 9 e to bearagainst the inner walls of the tubular body 7 b, outside the radialrecesses 7 d, which are radially closer to the central axis of thetubular body 7 b. The radial arms 9 e are therefore pressed or flexedradially inwards. The radial arms 9 e have end portions that are thickerthan the wall thickness of the channel 9 d, and therefore, the radialarms 9 e are pressed into the channel 9 d, reducing the cross-sectionalarea of the channel 9 d. When the delivery member shield 15 is arrangedin the channel 9 d, the radial arms 9 e will engage with, or pressagainst, the outer surface of the delivery member shield 9 d.

FIG. 10 shows the medicament container assembly 11. It should be notedthat other medicament container assemblies than the one describedherebelow may be used in conjunction with the cap assembly 5 previouslydescribed. Similarly, the below described medicament container assembly11 may be used in conjunction with other cap assemblies than theexemplified cap assembly 5.

The exemplified medicament container assembly 11 includes the body 3 andthe clamp member 13.

The clamp member 13 is tubular and has a through-opening 13 a extendingin the longitudinal direction of the clamp member 13. The clamp member13 furthermore has a proximal end flange 13, or support surface,extending radially inwards.

The body 3 has an elongated shape and is configured to receive themedicament container 17. The body 3 has a proximal end 3 a and a distalend 3 b and a support structure 3 c arranged inside the body 3, closerto the proximal end 3 a than to the distal end 3 b. The supportstructure 3 c extends between opposite inner surfaces of the body 3. Thesupport structure 3 c is provided on, or attached to, the opposite innersurfaces of the body 3. The support structure 3 c has a central tubularportion 3 d provided with an axially extending through-opening 3 econfigured to receive the medicament container 17.

As shown in FIG. 11, the body 3 furthermore has a radially flexiblefirst gripper arm 3 f and a radially flexible second gripper arm 3 garranged opposite relative to the first gripper arm 3 f. The firstgripper arm 3 f and the second gripper arm 3 g extend in the axialdirection of the body 3.

The first gripper arm 3 f and the second gripper arm 3 g are configuredto support a neck portion of the medicament container 17. According tothe example shown in FIG. 11, the first gripper arm 3 f and the secondgripper arm 3 g form part of the tubular portion 3 d.

The first gripper arm 3 f has a gripper portion 3 h provided at a distalend of the first gripper arm 3 f, extending radially inwards. The secondgripper arm 3 g has a gripper portion 3 i provided at a distal end ofthe second gripper arm 3 g, extending radially inwards.

The clamp member 13 is configured to receive the tubular portion 3 d ofthe body 3. In particular, the clamp member 13 is configured to bebrought around the tubular portion 3 d from the proximal end 3 a of thebody 3, and moved around the tubular portion 3 d such that the firstgripper arm 3 f and the second gripper arm 3 g are received by the clampmember 13 and pressed radially inwards by the inner surface of the clampmember 13. When the clamp member 13 has been set in its end positionduring assembly, the proximal end flange 13 b of the clamp member 13bears against the proximal end of the tubular portion 3 d.

With reference to FIGS. 12-15 methods of assembling a sub-assembly willnow be described.

FIG. 12 shows a longitudinal section of an example of a sub-assembly.Sub-assembly 21 includes the cap assembly 5 and the medicament containerassembly 11. FIG. 12 shows the sub-assembly 21 during assembly. Thesqueeze member 9 is in the first position inside the tubular body 7 b ofthe cap 7, and the delivery member shield 15 is arranged in the channelof the squeeze member 9. The medicament container 17 has been arrangedinside the body 3, and extends through the through-opening 3 e of thetubular portion 3 d, with a neck portion 17 a of the medicamentcontainer 17 extending proximally beyond the tubular portion 3 d. Thedelivery member 19 is arranged in the delivery member shield 15.

In FIG. 13, the sub-assembly 21 is shown in an assembled state. Thedistal end face of the squeeze member 9 was pushed towards the proximalend flange 13 b of the clamp member 13 as the cap assembly 5 and themedicament container assembly 11 were moved towards each other, causingthe squeeze member 9 to move from the first position to the secondposition, and thereby rotate due to the cooperation between the camstructure 7 f of the cap 7 and the proximal end face 9 a of the squeezemember 9. The radial arms 9 e of the squeeze member 9 have thus movedradially inwards as they were pressed towards the inner walls of thetubular body 7 b, outside the radial recesses 7 d, causing the radialarms 9 e to engage with the delivery member shield 15.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of a method of assembling a sub-assembly, forexample sub-assembly 21.

In a step a) the cap assembly 5 is provided.

In a step b), the squeeze member 9 is inserted into the distal opening 7c of the tubular body 7 b of the cap 7. The squeeze member 9 is movedtowards the bottom structure 7 e of the tubular body 7 b until theproximal end face 9 a of the squeeze member 9 contacts the bottomstructure 7 e, with each elevated portion 9 b of the squeeze member 9being arranged closer to an elevated portion 7 g of the cam structure 7f than to the lowest elevational point of the corresponding cut-outs 7 hof the cap 7. The squeeze member 9 is thus set in the first position.

In a step c) the cap 7 with the squeeze member 9 arranged therein isassembled with a medicament container assembly, for example medicamentcontainer assembly 11, including the medicament container 17 and thedelivery member shield 15.

In examples where the cap assembly 5 is assembled with the medicamentcontainer assembly 11, the distal end of the squeeze member 9 is pushedagainst the proximal end flange 13 b of the clamp member 13 providedaround the support structure 3 c of the body 3 and is moved in thedistal direction, causing the squeeze member 9 to move in the proximaldirection from the first position to the second position. Hence, duringthe assembly in step c), the squeeze member 9 is pushed further into thecap 7, moving from the first position to the second position, causingthe squeeze member 9 to rotate and grip the delivery member shield 15.

It should be noted that the cap assembly 5 could alternatively beassembled with another type of medicament container assembly, providedthat the medicament container assembly has a support surface againstwhich the distal end face of the squeeze member may be pushed duringassembly, to move the squeeze member from the first position to thesecond position.

The medicament container assembly 11 may be assembled according to themethod described by the flowchart in FIG. 15.

Hence, in a step A) the medicament container assembly 11 is provided.

In a step B) the medicament container 17 is inserted from a distal endopening of the body 3, with the delivery member 19 pointing in theproximal direction and the delivery member shield 15 being provided onthe delivery member 19.

The medicament container 17 is moved in the proximal direction until theneck portion 17 a of the medicament container 17 moves past the distalends of the first gripper arm 3 f and the second gripper arm 3 g, andthe delivery member shield 15 extends proximally through a proximalopening of the body 3.

In a step C) the clamp member 13 is moved over the delivery membershield 15, and into the body 3 through the proximal opening thereof.

In a step D) the clamp member 13 is moved in the distal direction overthe tubular portion 3 d, and thus over the first gripper arm 3 f and thesecond gripper arm 3 g. The first gripper arm 3 f and the second gripperarm 3 f are thereby bent or flexed radially inwards by the inner surfaceor wall of the clamp member 13.

In step D) the medicament container 17 may furthermore be pusheddistally until the clamp member 13 reaches an end position, i.e. whenthe proximal end flange 13 b bears against the proximal end of thetubular portion 3 d, and the first gripper arm 3 f and the secondgripper arm 3 g snap around the neck portion 17 a of the medicamentcontainer 17, thereby providing support of the neck portion 17 a.

In case that the cap assembly 5 is assembled with the exemplifiedmedicament container assembly 11 the steps a)-c) and steps A)-D) areinterconnected, in the sense that prior to step c) the medicamentcontainer assembly 11 has typically been assembled according to stepsA-C, while step D) and step c) may be carried out simultaneously. Thusin step D) the clamp member 13 may be pushed distally by the squeezemember 9 and the medicament container 17 and delivery member shield 15may be pushed distally by the cap 7, as the delivery member shield 15 isarranged in the squeeze member 9 and the cap 7 is moved distally towardsthe proximal end of the body 3.

The inventive concept has mainly been described above with reference toa few examples. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilledin the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equallypossible within the scope of the inventive concept, as defined by theappended claims.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A cap assembly for a medicament delivery device, comprising: a cap having a tubular body defining an axially extending distal opening and configured to be mounted to a proximal end of a medicament delivery device, wherein the cap has a bottom structure defining a proximal end of the distal opening (7 c), wherein the bottom structure has a cam structure provided inside the tubular body, and wherein the tubular body has inner walls provided with radial recesses, and an elongated squeeze member configured to be received in the distal opening of the tubular body, and having a longitudinally extending channel configured to receive a delivery member shield, and which squeeze member has radial arms flexible in the radial direction and forming part of a wall of the channel, wherein the squeeze member has a proximal end face configured to cooperate with the cam structure of the cap, whereby axial displacement of the squeeze member from a first position in which the proximal end face bears against the cam structure to a second position in which the squeeze member is received further by the cap causes rotation of the squeeze member relative to the cap, wherein the radial arms are configured to engage with a respective radial recess of the tubular body in the first position of the squeeze member, and wherein the radial arms are configured to disengage from the respective radial recess when the squeeze member is displaced from the first position to the second position and rotated, whereby the flexible radial arms are pressed into the channel by the inner walls of the tubular body, reducing a cross-sectional area of the channel.
 18. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the cam structure is annular in a radial plane and comprises a plurality of elevated portions with a cut-out having oppositely inclined surfaces provided between each adjacent pair of elevated portions, in the circumferential direction of the cam structure.
 19. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the proximal end face of the squeeze member comprises a plurality of elevated portion with a cut-out having oppositely inclined surfaces provided between each adjacent pair of elevated portions of the proximal end face, in the circumferential direction of the squeeze member.
 20. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 19, wherein each elevated portion of the squeeze member is configured to bear against a region of a cut-out of the cam structure closer to an elevated portion of the cam structure than to a lowest elevational point of the cut-out, in the first position of the squeeze member.
 21. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 19, wherein the elevated portions of the squeeze member are configured to engage with the cut-outs of the cam structure in the second position of the squeeze member.
 22. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein at least two of the radial arms are arranged opposite to each other in a radial plane of the squeeze member, causing the two radial arms to move towards each other in the second position of the squeeze member.
 23. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein two of the radial arms are arranged in a first radial plane of the squeeze member, and wherein two other radial arms are arranged in a second radial plane axially spaced apart from the first radial plane.
 24. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 23, wherein the two radial arms arranged in the first plane are arranged 90 degrees offset in the circumferential direction relative to the two arms arranged in the second plane.
 25. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the radial recesses have inclined surfaces in the circumferential direction allowing the radial arms to disengage when the squeeze member is rotated while displaced from the first position to the second position.
 26. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the radial arms have an increasing thickness in a direction from their point of attachment towards their end portions, wherein the thickness of each end portion is thicker than a wall thickness of the channel.
 27. The cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the radial recesses extend in the longitudinal direction along a majority of the length of the inner walls of the tubular body.
 28. The medicament delivery device comprising: a body having a proximal opening, and a cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein the cap assembly is configured to be mounted to the medicament delivery device to cover the proximal opening of the body.
 29. The medicament delivery device as claimed in claim 28, comprising a surface configured to bear against a distal end face of the squeeze member.
 30. A method of assembling a sub-assembly for a medicament delivery device, comprising: a) providing a cap assembly as claimed in claim 17, b) inserting the squeeze member into the distal opening of the cap and moving the squeeze member towards the bottom structure until the proximal end face of the squeeze member contacts the cam structure to obtain the first position of the squeeze member, and c) assembling the cap with the squeeze member arranged therein with a medicament container assembly comprising a delivery member shield, such that the squeeze member receives the delivery member shield.
 31. The method as claimed in claim 30, wherein step c) includes moving a distal end face of the squeeze member towards a proximal surface of the medicament container assembly, causing the squeeze member to move proximally inside the cap from the first position to the second position causing the radial arms to squeeze the delivery member shield.
 32. The method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the delivery member shield is a rigid needle shield or a flexible needle shield. 